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The Skincare Routine that I'm Actually Sticking to

Sunday, 9 April 2017

For the first couple of months of this year my skin was just bleh; I was breaking out all over the shop, my skin felt uncomfortable, it didn't feel clean even after I'd just washed it and just felt that it looked really dull all the time (it made my so unhappy with my makeup too!) - ugh it was horrible!

So, I decided that I needed to completely overhaul my skincare - I was using a mishmash of products, but only halfheartedly, not really doing a 'proper' skincare routine every day, more often than not I'd just cleanse my skin and leave it at that (terrible, I know!). To be honest, I needed a complete overhaul of all of my skincare products - I needed a selection of products that I would be excited to use every day, something simple, quick and easy to do (even at 04:30am when I'm getting up to go on an early shift at work!).

I decided to go to an actual department store instead of just ordering online because I wanted to physically try the products before I purchased them! I must've spent nearly an hour wandering around the beauty floor, going to every one of the counters and looking at their skincare products. Eventually I came to the Origins counter, the woman on there was so lovely - she absolutely sold me on the brand and I was basically like "take my money"!

Because I was new to the brand I decided to go for their Skincare Essentials gift set, this was such a good deal - it meant I saved around £40 on those four full-size products compared to buying the products separately!

I'm basically just using these four products morning and night every day, it's a stripped back routine that is working wonders for my skin! In the last month (well just over that really) my skin is feeling so clean, hydrated and is looking so much brighter compared to earlier on this year. Yeah I still get the occasional spot or two but no breakouts that take over my whole face (thank god!)!

So on to the actual products I'm using as part of my skincare routine:

CLEANSER // Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash - I love this cleanser! It's creamy and frothy (but not excessively foamy), it's gentle and not stripping, my skin feels clean - it sounds silly but to be honest that's all I want in a cleanser, for it to clean my face. I really like how this one cleanser can deal with the areas of my face that are bit more dry whilst also helping to control the more oil-y patches on my skin. Afterwards my skin feels refreshed, brighter and just calmed - I'm so impressed with it!

TONER // United States Balancing Tonic - I've never used a toner before so I can't compare it to any other toner out there, but I honestly think that this stuff is magic! I don't really understand how a quick sweep of this across my face after cleansing can make my skin feel so refreshed, look so much brighter, control the oil without excessively drying everything out, gently exfoliate my skin regularly so nothing gets too flaky (niice!), I just love it - I'm a toner convert! What surprises me the most is that even after I've cleansed there still manages to be a bit of dirt on the cotton pad when I swipe the tone over my face!

MOISTURISER // Make a Difference Plus+ I'm normally nervous around moisturiser - I used to be convinced that it would just make me more oily and encourage more breakouts - what a doughnut! when it actually does the complete opposite! This moisturiser is very soothing and hydrating, but light feeling. My skin feels hydrated and plumped, it soaks in quickly so doesn't leave my face feeling all oily after I've applied it. I really have noticed a difference since using it!

EYE CREAM // GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream, ahh the well-talked about GinZing collection finally makes an appearance! I have real trouble my under-eye area, they get so dry and painful! I knew I should've been using an eye cream to combat this but every one I tried just made it worse! So I was apprehensive to say the least about trying this, turns out it's amazing! My eyes feel really refreshed but also soothed and hydrated after using it, plus it also helps to combat those dark circles that seem to appear after I've done night shifts by brightening up the area!

Honourable Mentions:

MAKE UP REMOVER // I'm a die hard Bioderma Micellar Water fan - I just don't think that any of the other miceller waters out there on the market do as good of a job! All of the other ones that I've tried tend to leave my eyes stinging! I only use Bioderma to remove my eye makeup because I feel that it removes my stubborn mascara and eye-liner with the most ease.

MASKS // I swear by the Garnier Moisture Bomb mask - it's so easy to add a shot of moisture to my skin, I only tend to use this as a littler pamper treat after my night shifts to help pep my skin up - my skin gets so dry and tired-feeling after being in a super air-conditioned lab overnight!

So there we have it, a skincare routine that I've actually managed to stick to and not jut halfheartedly give up after a week or so - and my skin is really loving me for it!